Before Politics
Banks, born in Wellington, moved to Auckland while still at high school. His father, Archie spent much of his life in prison, a fact Banks does not try to hide, going as far as to mention his father's prison experiences in his criticism of the style of the proposed Mount Eden Prisons building.
In his career before entering politics, Banks worked as a market researcher in the pharmaceutical industry, as a commercial property developer, and as a restaurant owner. He served for a time as Chairman of the New Zealand Licensed Restaurant and Cabaret Association.
Banks began his political career in local-body politics with election to the Birkenhead Borough Council.
Read more about this topic: John Banks (New Zealand Politician)
Famous quotes containing the word politics:
“The history of American politics is littered with bodies of people who took so pure a position that they had no clout at all.”
—Ben C. Bradlee (b. 1921)
“Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, I remember. Botany variable, geology profound as regards the mud stains from any region within fifty miles of town, chemistry eccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crime records unique, violin player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and self-poisoner by cocaine and tobacco.”
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)